Many people believe that teaching children music makes them smarter, better able

Many people believe that teaching children music makes them smarter, better able

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Many people believe that teaching children music makes them smarter, better able to learn new things. But the organizers of a new study say there"s no scientific evidence that early musical training affects the intelligence of young people.
An estimated 80 percent of American adults think music lessons improve children"s abilily to learn or their performance in school. They say that the satisfaction for learning to play a new song helps a child express creativity.
Researchers at Harvard University, however, have found that there"s one thing musi­cal training does not do. They say it does not make children more intelligent. Samuel Mehr is a graduate student at Harvard"s School of Education. He said it is wrong to think that learning to play a musical instrument improves a child"s intellectual development. He says the evidence comes from studies that measured the mental ability of two groups of 4-year-olds and their parents. One group attended music class, the other went to a class that places importance on the visual arts—arts that can be seen.
"The evidence there is "no". We found no evidence for any advantage on any of these tests for the kids participating in these music clases," said Mehr.Samuel Mehr says researchers have carried out many studies in an effort to learn whether musical training can make children smarter. He says the results have been mixed. He says only one study seems to show a small percentage increase in IQ, intellectual scores among students after one year of music lessons. He does not believe that IQ is a good measure of child"s intelligence. He says researchers in his study compared how well children in the musical training group did on mental processing tasks or projects, then the results were compared to those of children who did not take lessons. There was no evidence that the musical training group did much better on the mental tasks than the other group.
The researchers comfirmed the results with a larger group of children and their par­ents.Mr Mehr says music lessons may not offer children a fast easy way to gain entry to the best schools later of their life. But he says the training is still important for cultural reasons. In his words, "We teach music because music is important for us."
小题1:According to the new study, musical training______.
A.makes children smarter
B.helps a child express creativity
C.does not make children more intelligent
D.improve children"s ability to learn in school
小题2:Samuel Mehr may agree that______.
A.the children who attended music class are smarter than those who attended arts class
B.IQ is a good measure of a child"s intelligence
C.we needn"t to teach children music
D.music training is still important for cultural reasons
小题3:In order to confirm his view, Samuel Mehr______.
A.conducted more than one research
B.interviewed many American adults
C.taught two groups of 4-yetr-olds music and arts
D.offered children a fast way to be admitted to the best schools
小题4:The artical may be taken from a report about _____.
A.healthB.educationC.cultureD.economy

答案

小题1:C
小题2:D
小题3:A
小题4:B
解析

试题分析:人们认为孩子小的时候接受音乐教育可以更聪明。但事实是这样吗?哈佛大学最近的一项研究表示,没有证据支持接受了音乐教育的孩子比没有接受音乐教育的孩子表得更好。
小题1:主旨大意题。文章讲了哈佛大学做的一项研究 ,推翻了人们认为的孩子小时候学习音乐会更聪明的结论。故选C。
小题2:细节理解题。由“ But he says the training is still important for cultural reasons. In his words, "We teach music because music is important for us."”可知他认为 音乐对于文化原因还是很重要的。故选D。
小题3:细节理解题。由“Samuel Mehr says researchers have carried out many studies in an effort to learn whether musical training can make children smarter.”可知 Samuel Mehr组织了不止一项研究去论证音乐对孩子早期智力开发的真实作用。故选A。
小题4:主旨大意题。 全文讲了哈佛大学教授做的一项关于音乐开发小孩智力真假与否的研究,因此应该出自教育有关的栏目。health健康;education教育;culture文化;economy经济。故选B。
举一反三
The world"s largest solar thermal plant(太阳热能发电站)is set to begin producing power in the United States by the end of the year. Wind and energy from the sun are generally considered clean, unlike energy from coal-burning power stations. However, environmentalists now worry that too much solar power development could harm the local environment.
A California company — BrightSource Energy is building a huge solar power plant in the Mojave desert, about 60 kilometers southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada. The plant is known as the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System. Joe Desmond works for the company. "This is actually one of the highest concentrations of sunlight in the world, out here in Ivanpah." explained Desmond. BrightSource Energy will deploy 170,000 specially de­signed mirrors to direct solar energy towards boilers on top of three power towers. The steam produced in the boilers will drive turbine (涡轮) to make electricity. Joe Desmond says the steam can reach temperatures of more than 260 degrees Celsius. "We can store the sun"s thermal energy in the form of molten salt, so we can produce electricity even when the sun goes down. There is a lot of interest in concentrating solar power around the globe in environmnents where you have lots of sun, such as China, South Africa, the Mid­dle East, North Africa, explained Desmond.
Environmentalists generally support the idea of solar power, however, many are concerned about the effect of power plants on sensitive environment. Lisa Belenky is a lawyer with the Center for Biological Diversity, a private group. She says environmentalists are specifically worried about the effect of the Ivanpah Solar Project on the sensitive plant and animal life in that part of Mojave desert. "Even though the desert seems big, when you start cutting it up, it can really affect how the species and the animals and the plants are able to survive in the long run,"said Lisa Belenky. BrightSource Energy has already spent more than $ 50 million to move endangered desert tortoises away from the power plant. but Lisa Belenky says this is not the answer. "We should be reusing areas that have a1ready been disturbed, like old mining sites, for example...either on homes, on businesses, parking lots." said Belenky.
There have also been reports of birds dying at the Ivanpah Plant and others like it.
Some birds die after colliding with solar equipment which the animals mistake for water. Other birds were killed or suffered burns after flying through the intense heat at the solar thermal plant. As solar projects increase, environmentalists and developers are considering what to do to reduce bird death.
小题1:Why is the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System being built in the desert?
A.Because the temperature is extremely high in the desert.
B.Because there is no life in the desert.
C.Because there is much salt in the desert.
D.Because sunlight is highly focused in the desert.
小题2:Why can the plant make electricity at night?
A.Because the sun"s thermal energy can be stored in the form of steam.
B.Because the sun"s thermal energy can be stored in the form of molten salt.
C.Because the sun"ss thermal energy can be stored through mirrors
D.Because the sun"s thermal energy can be stored in the boilers.
小题3:According to Lisa Belenky, in order to reduce the effect,_____.
A. we should move all the plants and animals away from the solar plant
B. we should guide the bird not to hit the solar plant
C we should build the solar plant in disturbed areas
D. we should build the solar plant in the desert
小题4:The author’s attitude towards the solar projects is _____.
A.supportiveB.critical C.indifferentD.cautious

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It"s going to be a chaotic(混乱的)day. How do I know? It’s Monday. OK, joking. But, I do predict that today will be filled with the normal last-minute tasks, fire drills, and unforeseen events. So, how do you keep yourself from being swept away in the stream of chaos? How do you remain calm while others are rushing and panicking? There"s a problem… Panic! When things don"t go as planned, how do you react? Are you the calm one who works to fix things? Or the one running around like Chicken Little screaming that the sky falling? Getting upset or alarmed can seem like natural reactions to a problem.
Here are a few tips to kelp you remain calm in the face of the storm:
• Don"t Panic  You are better able to find a solution if you  aren"t panicking. If you can keep your head when others are losing theirs, you will be able to make a dear decision in the chaos.
• There Aren"t Many True Emergenaes   My time as a Naval Officer taught me a­bout true emergencies. In the military, when there is a problem, people can get hurt or die. This is not usually the case when the office copier or email server goes down. Keep things in perspective. There are very few true emergencies in life.
• Avoid the "Fight or Flight"   When you are stressed, your body will want to go into "fight or flight." Your body was designed to keep you safe from danger, but its natu­ral reflexes aren"t always the best solution against a project gone away. Keep your emotions in check and ensure that your physical reflexes don’t make bad decisions for you.
• Head Into The Problem    While everyone else is running away, true leaders walk into a problem. Sticking your head in the sand only makes things worse. Instead of trying to ignore the situition, get to the heart of the issue as soon as possible. Only then can you address it
How Will You React? When you find yourself ready to lose it, take a step back. Ask, "In this truly an emergcncy?" Keep your head when others are losing theirs. And you"ll find that you are that much closer to a solution.
小题1:The author writes the first paragraph in order to______.
A.describe a chaotic dayB.advocate a way of lifeC.introduce a topicD.make a joke
小题2:In order to make a wiser decision in the chaos, you should _____.
A.low your headB.keep your headC.shake your headD.stick your head
小题3:The example of the author"s time as a Naval Officer is used to illustrate_____.
A.there are seldom true emergencies in life
B.there are many true emergencies in life
C.some emergencies are really urgent
D.some emergencies can"t be predicted
小题4:What would the best title for the passage?
A.Fight or Flight
B.True emergencies
C.Less Talking, More Doing
D.Keep calm in the face of the storm

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Teaching is more than leadership. Some of the teacher’s time and effort is directed toward instruction, some toward evaluation. But it is the teacher as a group leader who creates an effective organizational structure and good working environment so that instruction and evaluation activities can take place. A group that is totally disorganized, unclear about its goals, or constantly fighting among its members will not be a good learning group. The leadership pattern includes helping to form and maintain a positive learning environment so that instruction and evaluation activities can take place.
On the first day of class, the teacher faces a room filled with individuals. Perhaps a few closely united groups and friendships already exist. But there is no sense of group unity, no set of rules for conduct in the group, no feeling of belonging. If teachers are successful leaders, they will help students develop a system of relationships that encourages working together.
Standards and rules must be set to keep order, make sure of justice and protect individual rights, but do not contradict school policy. What happens when one student hurts another’s individual rights? Without clear regulations agreeable to the students and teachers, the classroom can become chaotic. Students may break rules they did not know existed. If standards are set without participation from the class, students may spend a great deal of creative energy in destroying the class environment or finding ways to break rules.
No matter how skillful the teacher is in uniting students and creating a positive atmosphere, the task is never complete. Regular maintenance is necessary. Conflicts arise. The needs of individual members change. A new kind of learning task requires a new organizational structure. Sometimes outside pressures such as holidays, upcoming tests or sport competitions, or family troubles cause stress in the classroom. One task for the teacher is to recreate a positive environment by helping students deal with conflict, change, and stress.
小题1:The underlined word “maintain” in Para.1 probably means_______.
A.keepB. buildC.recreateD.evaluate
小题2:According to the author, the teacher should _______.
A.free students from outside pressures
B.set the standards and rules on his own
C.be responsible for a well-organized class
D.focus more on instruction and evaluation
小题3:From the passage we can learn that ______.
A.rules cannot be changed once they’re formed
B.outside pressures can not cause tension among students
C.if the teacher well unites his students, he then will finish his task
D.if rules are not acceptable both to students and teachers, the classroom can be a mess
小题4:What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?
A.To provide information for teaching.
B.To show the importance of teaching a class.
C.To study the teacher’s behavior in the classroom.
D.To compare the teacher’s behavior with the students’ in class.

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If your preschoolers turn up their noses at carrots or celery, a small reward like a sticker(贴画) for taking even a taste may help get them to eat previously disliked foods, a UK study said.
Though it might seem obvious that a reward could encourage young children to eat their vegetables, the idea is actually controversial, researchers wrote in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. That’s because some studies have shown that rewards can backfire and cause children to lose interest in foods they already liked, said Jane Wardle, a researcher at University College London who worked on the study. Verbal praise, such as “Brilliant! You’re a great vegetable taster”, did not work as well.
The study found that when parents gave their small children a sticker each time they took a “tiny taste” of a disliked vegetable, it gradually changed their attitudes. The children were also willing to eat more of the vegetables—either carrots, celery, cucumber, red pepper, cabbage or sugar snap peas—in laboratory taste tests, the study said.
Researchers randomly assigned (分派) 173 families to one of these groups. In one, parents used stickers to reward their children each time they took a tiny sample of a disliked vegetable. A second group of parents used verbal praise. The third group, where Parents used no special vegetable-promoting methods, served as a “control”.
Parents in the reward groups offered their children a taste of the “target” vegetable every day for 12 days. Soon after, children in the sticker group were giving higher ratings to the vegetables—and were willing to eat more in the research lab, going from an average of 5 grams at the start to about 10 grams after the 12-day experience. The turnaround(转机) also seemed to last, with preschoolers in the sticker group still willing to eat more of the once-disliked vegetable three months later.
Why didn’t the verbal praise work? Wardle said the parents’ words may have seemed “insincere” to their children.
小题1:The purpose of writing the passage is      .
A.to show the procedure of an experiment on children’s diet
B.to introduce a practical method of making children eat vegetables
C.to explain why children hate to eat vegetables
D.to present a proper way of verbal praise to parents
小题2:The underlined word “backfire” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.
A.shoot from behind the back
B.make a fire in the backyard
C.produce an unexpected result
D.achieve what was planned
小题3:Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A.Most children are born to dislike carrots or celery.
B.Children in the sticker group will never lose interest in eating vegetables.
C.Oral praise works quite well in encouraging children to eat vegetables.
D.It remains a question whether rewarding is a good way to get children to eat vegetables.
小题4:What can we learn from the last paragraph?
A.Children like rewards, not verbal praise.
B.Parents should give up verbal praise.
C.Children are difficult to inspire.
D.Parents should praise their children in a sincere tone.

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When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores in certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or anxious situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.
   For example, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. He probably isn’t sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And, if he can’t make things work out right, he doesn’t feel ashamed that he fails; he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook(人生观) on life, special feeling about life, and knows how he fits into it.
    If you look at children, you’ll see great difference between what we call “bright” children and “not bright” children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amounts of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out more about life --- he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream-world; he seems to have a wall between him and life in general.
小题1:What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.What’s real meaning of intelligence
B.What’s the “bright” children’s behavior
C.What’s a special outlook on life
D.How to live and behave in a new situation
小题2:In the author’s opinion the biggest difference between “bright” children and “not bright” children lies in ____________.
A.the amount of intelligence
B.the different situations they face
C.the different attitudes to life
D.the background of life
小题3:What might the author continue to talk about in the passage that follows?
A.how to determine what intelligence is
B.How an unintelligent person should be taught
C.how to judge whether a person is intelligent
D.how education should be changed

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